Four arrested in '£6m' phone scam probe

Four men have been arrested in connection with a premium-rate phone scam that police reckon could have netted an estimated £6m. The four - two from Cambridge and two from Basingstoke - were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud customers of the telephone network, police said in a statement.

The investigation is focusing on a scam in which people were called and told they had won an expensive prize. To claim their winnings, though, punters had to call a premium rate phone number which led to them racking up large phone bills. Few people, if any, actually received their "prize".

City of London Police and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) searched six addresses in Cambridge, Basingstoke and North London last week before seizing a large number of computer records and files.

Said senior investigating officer, DCI Colin Cowan: "We are working closely with the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS) throughout this investigation. This investigation stretches across the whole of the UK and we believe the scam may have netted the fraudsters £6 million." ®